Toshiba's chief executive and president Hisao Tanaka is to resign after the company said it had overstated its profits for the past six years. He will be succeeded by chairman Masashi Muromachi, with vice-chairman Norio Sasaki also stepping down. On Monday, an independent panel appointed by Toshiba said the firm had overstated its operating profit by a total of 151.8 billion yen ($1.22 billion, £780 million).

The overstatement was roughly triple an initial Toshiba estimate. "It has been revealed that there has been inappropriate accounting going on for a long time, and we deeply apologise for causing this serious trouble for shareholders and other stakeholders," the company said in a statement. "Because of this Hisao Tanaka, our company president, and Norio Sasaki, our company's vice chairman... will resign today."

Mr. Tanaka, 64, and Mr. Sasaki, 66, both joined Toshiba in the early 1970s. Mr. Sasaki served as Toshiba president between June 2009 and June 2013, covering most of the period during which the firm inflated the profits.

Toshiba's accounting scandal began when securities regulators uncovered problems as they probed the company's balance sheet earlier this year. The findings mean Toshiba will have to restate its profits for the period between April 2008 and March 2014. It is unclear whether it will affect the company's results for the year ending March 2015.